Ghostly Goings On - over the moon

[MrDuke]

I can't comment on the 1.5 specifically, but the M-series engines are awesome units, especially in a car as light as the Ignis. Mine's only a 1.3, but it's so eager and rev-happy. It pulls respectably at low revs, but when the VVT kicks in around 4-4.5k it really picks up its skirts, and makes the most adorable noise doing it.
The steering's as precise as you'd expect, although the handling varies with spec - I believe Ghosty's Sport is pretty tight, while mine's very wallowy through corners if it's pushed. (Nothing a Swift ARB wouldn't cure, mind...)

[Ghosty]

Home achieved. Write up tomorrow if I've got nothing to do at work or something. 

 

[Ghosty]

So, write up time. After the ordeal I had trying to swap the Accord for an MR2 that then catastrophically failed its MOT due to an idiotic seller, I put the listing back as 'available' on FB and given that the ad was about 7 weeks old, I got mild interest, but nothing too much - message a day or something. I did get one or two people ask to view it but then cancel. One person said they were interested but then asked for 12 months MOT - I don't have the time for that so I kept waiting: besides, with the amount of MOT left on it being something like 8 weeks now, I thought I need to get rid of it asap or I'll have to MOT it, which I don't fancy on emissions, broken horn, and whatever else nasty came up.
 

It kept generating new foibles too, like the driver's window now working backwards on the switch after a wire in the tailgate shorted to the body, and fourth gear getting a little crunchy sometimes. 
I really started to get sick of the ever-lengthening list of faults, so back to Marketplace, and I wrote a new ad, added some new photos, and lowered the price a bit. 
Cue renewed interest, a load more offers of swaps, but no viewings or cash offers - and just in case I kept an eye on the comments in all the for sale groups I'd posted it in. 

This paid off as I saw a comment that just said 'Ignis Sport for swap' - 🤔. This was on Thursday, with the FoD weekend coming up.
I messaged the guy and he came back that evening and told me a bit about it then said he'd send some pics over. Sure enough, next day he sends a load of pictures over and tells me all there is to know, answers all my questions - I thought, if this Ignis runs and drives etc and is legal, it's a much better asset than the Accord. MOT history looked OK, ten months ticket...  I asked if he just wanted to do a straight trade and he said yes, and didn't ask much about the Accord. I was honest about it though and it didn't seem to phase him. I asked where he was and he said Brentwood - he then offered to meet me halfway to make the exchange. I pointed out that I was going to be in the south on the weekend anyway (for going to the FoD) so I asked him if he'd meet me at Oxford Services on the M40 as it wasn't too much out of the way for me. He agreed, so we set a time and a date - he then said he'd bring a beavertail to take the Accord away as his insurance transfer wouldn't take effect til the day after (presumably he needed the Ignis in the morning?). 
The only thing he said was wrong with the Ignis is that it's a Cat C as the sump cracked somehow, and that one rear corner has been badly rattle canned. He'd replaced the sump on it at some point in the past - he must have done a good job as it's done 9000 miles since the last MOT, which was two months ago...


Anyway Saturday arrives and everything is still good, I amble southwards picking up some shitely stuff on the way, and avoiding smart motorways in case the Accord does shit itself somehow and I get stuck in a running lane. He does ask to push back a couple of hours as he needs to move some stuff around at the place he's taking the Accord, I just let him as I can just take the drive down easy (so the carbs don't fall off) and chat and drink tea at the Field of Dreams. Wherein, in the rain a guessing game ensued. A general consensus emerged that I'd bought a Suzuki X90 for some reason... 

anyway he then messages me again saying he'll be a further hour behind as he'd got stuck in Braintree somehow (the wrong way?), but he keeps me posted and says he'll be at Oxford Services at 6. I arrive at 6 as well, at which point he says he's 20 minutes away, so I wandered off to Burger King - fortuitous, as the FoD folks had started the chippy run while I was gone, and nobody thought to check if I wanted anything... 

Anyway bang on 6:20 a recovery truck with an Ignis on the back appears, so I jump in the Accord and run around to the petrol station at the services, where there's two lads standing and grinning as the Accord rolls in. This should be easy... popped the headlights up and down a couple of times which they loved. Anyway we have a look around each other's cars, disclose all the faults etc - the chap having the Accord says 'it's fine mate, I'm used to it'. He'd better be! 

The Ignis taken off the truck. It's dirty and needs a long session with scratch remover and polish, inside was absolutely hanging, the steering wheel was greasy and the dash was dusty and sticky like someone had been repeatedly trying to drink coffee at the wheel while going over speed bumps... the radio is only in loosely but nothing too much in there is broken. It looks like it'll clean up fine. 

The car didn't have the standard wheels on it when I was sent the pictures, but the guy asked if he could fit them so he could keep the wheels - apparently they had better tyres anyway? I'm not going to complain as the original wheels are made by Enkei... 

I didn't expect four Michelin CrossClimates.  



We're both happy, swap keys, and he goes to drive the Accord onto the truck. Except because of how the truck's parked and the layout of the petrol station, he's gone on at an angle. He gets the front wheels to the top of the ramps then stops as it's not lined up, then after some contemplation he tries to keep going, then rolls backwards. 



LOL


This resulted in this absolute gem of a picture of the Ignis seller and his girlfriend. 

She really liked the Ignis and was sad to see it go - it was going to be her first car apparently, but she couldn't get her licence in time or something. 

Anyway, while the lad tried to work out what to do, I went through the paperwork for him, and his mate winched the Accord onto the truck, like they should have done in the first place. Once it was on they left, and I set off back to the FoD in the Ignis. The mirrors need replacing as one has a broken casing and the other is droopy, but the electric guts on both work. As @Talbot found, the tailgate trim comes off in your hand if you pull it, you need to use the (non functional) rear wiper as a handle. The only other thing is that the shift linkage is rather baggy and makes a high mileage 205 shifter feel accurate - occasionally you can be going down from fifth to fourth, and get second if you're not careful. 
Otherwise, it all sort of works! There's no temperature gauge, when you start it a little blue light comes on that says 'cold' and when it's up to temp it goes out - the seller said he only ever drove it after the 'cold' light went out. 

It drives really nicely, loads of grip, doesn't have any knocks or bangs and doesn't feel worn out either. It's well built and there's not much wear on anything except the gearknob, and the Recaros feel fantastic. Lovely weight to the steering (though parallel parking can be fun*) and it's VERY responsive - the pedals are very sensitive. For a little care and attention it'll be a really good little thing for just bobbing about in. It's good on fuel too, 30 quid got it over 200 miles home from Oxford. Similar economy figures and driving style to the Rover and Civic - 70mph on the motorway is 3500rpm, etc.

I'm really pleased with it - looking forward to seeing how it cleans up. 

[beko1987]

It seems an honest little thing! An afternoon with some cable ties and tigerseal will make more of the exterior bits part of the car again... 

[Liggle]

Love an Ignis sport, my bro bought the one off @Jim Bell a few years ago and I think I drove it more than he did! Fishnets ftw

[St.Jude]

Witness the Ignis, brake hard pull left 🎶

[aotb]

The Ignis is a great car, a 55 plate would be one of the last. Not the car I'd pick to do mega milage in though! The boot handle has come detached on all of them I've had, you can epoxy the studs back in to the handle if most of the socket is still there.  HGF is becoming increasingly common as they age, the lack of a temp gauge doesn't help.

[MrDuke]

Mine has a temp gauge.

Although I wonder if it's 'fake analogue' like some other 90s Jap tin - i.e. the needle has 3 set positions (cold, normal, f**cked) and moves between them?

[High Jetter]

Bit like my Mrs, then. 😀

[Ghosty]

Half day, Ignis cleaning time. It still needs a vacuum out, but I scrubbed the carpets and seats a bit, they don't look too visibly different but they feel a lot nicer. 

Found a 1/4" ratchet and a Halfords long 10mm socket in the spare wheel well.



Gave the headlights a quick rub with some G3 scratch remover, to notable improvement. 


jet washed under the bonnet:



and gave it a snowfoam. 



The paint needs a compound and there are some serious scratches to contend with, but with a little work it's going to come up really quite well. 

[beko1987]

That looks really good from this distance! 

[Mrcento]

Nice. But to my eyes, they always look a bit naked at the front without the rally spotlight inspired foglights.

This was mine.

[Ghosty]

On 8/27/2021 at 12:05 AM, Mrcento said:

Nice. But to my eyes, they always look a bit naked at the front without the rally spotlight inspired foglights.

This was mine.

The fogs command utterly absurd money on the owners' group.

Blue and yellow are the best colours for them IMO, but I've found so far that the silver is rather unassuming and catches a lot of people off guard  

[Ghosty]

The Rover is leaving me soon - I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. With my Civic Sedan having arrived and being better in almost every way, the Rover is surplus to requirements, so it's only fair. 
The Ignis is up for sale too (make me a derisory offer or buy some roffle tickets!).

 

With this I need a new daily. I've found a suitable candidate, watch this space. 

[Ghosty]

The suitable candidate stopped replying to emails. Bah. 

However an EVEN MORE suitable candidate appeared on Marketplace. So tomorrow I'm getting in the Rover for the first leg of the journey, then I've got a wad of tickets from Trainsplit to take me to the south coast, to look at something else. 

[High Jetter]

Ooh, just a look, not a done deal? Where are you aiming for?

[Ghosty]

...why am I still awake?

 

4 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Ooh, just a look, not a done deal? Where are you aiming for?

Dorset.

[Ghosty]

*confused noises*

 

[brownnova]

Woop! Good luck! 

[Ghosty]

Peterborough services. Last time I was here with an R8, it was on an AA truck waiting for its next leg home, and I was in a rental Fiesta. 

[Ghosty]

Rover has left my ownership. 

[beko1987]

Crikey I hope whatever you've bought has good suspension! To get home you'd be best heading over the fens to Holbeach then a17 to the a1 but some of the roads are fantastic! 

406 and both laguna2's hated it, I slammed the 406 onto its bump stops on at least 3 corners trying 70mph along one road towards gedney hill. Xsara and the zx's soak it up, 65/70 all day long*

[Ghosty]

@beko1987 I'm on a train south westward, I won't be driving in the Fens any more. 

Rover was very bouncy on the roads here. 

[Ghosty]

[Ghosty]

Standing on the train as there aren't any seats, even in 10 or so carriages. 

People keep wandering up and down looking for seats. 

 

Thankfully this train doesn't stop again before Kings Cross. 

[Ghosty]

I think it's the law to take a picture of this roof if you pass under it on a collection. 

[stripped fred]

Exciting stuff!

[beko1987]

Oooh your in that_London! That's escalated quickly

[Ghosty]

Waterloo, or if you think about it, chicken korma. 

For my next destination the information screen has told me to travel in the front seven coaches of the train, but also the rear five. This is going to take some working out.... I'm going to travel in the sixth carriage as it fulfils both criteria - but which end of a train is the front?

I'm going to find some lunch. 

[Ghosty]

Ah, badly written sign. Coach 1-7 is allowed for the destination.